Monday

Nov 13, 2017 at 10:02 AMNov 13, 2017 at 10:19 AM

After Ohio State improved to 2-0 on Sunday with an 82-72 win against Radford, coach Chris Holtmann admitted to doing a little extra mixing and matching with his lineups. With so many unknowns on a team still learning its new coach, that’s probably to be expected in the early portions of the schedule.

Now, after going over the lineups from wins against Robert Morris and Radford, here’s what we’ve learned about the Buckeyes so far.

*In the opener against Robert Morris on Friday, the starters were broken up 4:52 into the game, when Musa Jallow and Kaleb Wesson replaced Kam Williams and Micah Potter and the score was 11-8, Buckeyes. They were reunited with 9:41 to play in the half and Ohio State ahead, 25-16.

That group remained in the game for the next 2:39 and outscored Robert Morris 5-3 to increase the lead to 30-19 when Kaleb Wesson replaced Micah Potter with 7:02 to play.

*The second lineup of the game to be reunited consisted of Keita Bates-Diop, C.J. Jackson, Musa Jallow, Jae’Sean Tate and Kaleb Wesson. After outscoring Robert Morris 5-0 in 1:37 during their first time together, this group got a dunk from Jallow, and a lay-up and three-pointer from Bates-Diop for a 7-0 run during the next 2:05 that pushed the Ohio State lead to 20 points at 39-19.

*For the game, the Buckeyes used 15 different lineups. They were without Potter or Kaleb Wesson in just one of them, and that lineup of Andrew Dakich, Musa Jallow, Andre Wesson, Kyle Young and Bates-Diop was outscored 2-0 in 1:05.

*They got better production from a lineup without a true center during the first half against Radford than they did against Robert Morris. With the lead at 15-14, Holtmann brought Jackson and Bates-Diop back into the game, replacing Dakich and Kaleb Wesson. That duo worked with Tate, Andre Wesson and Williams and was effective: in 3:48, that lineup outscored Radford 16-5 and built a 31-19 lead.

Potter replaced Wesson, putting the starters back on the court, but Radford put together a quick 5-2 run and Holtmann angrily called a timeout. By halftime, Holtmann had used 12 different lineups including three that didn’t appear against Robert Morris in the final 2:33 of the half.

*At the half, Ohio State’s starters had been outscored 13-11 in 5:53. That changed in a big way in the opening minutes of the second half.

Against the Highlanders, the Buckeyes starters went on a 17-1 run in the first 6:05 before Holtmann made four substitutions to give his guys some rest and that’s when Radford started to make a run. From there, Jackson, Jallow, both Wessons and Kyle Young were outscored 8-2 in the next 2:30 before Holtmann subbed out Young for Tate with 11:25 to play.

*With a 21-point lead and 2:11 to play, Holtmann had a lineup of Dakich, Jackson, Jallow, Andre Wesson and Young on the court. When Jackson was lifted for former walk-on Joey Lane with 48 seconds left, Radford had pulled five points closer with a 6-1 run. Then in the final 36 seconds, the Highlanders hit a pair of three-pointers to set the final score.

*Against Radford, the Buckeyes used 18 lineups. Of them, 11 weren’t used against Robert Morris. Of the 26 different lineups used so far, nine have been outscored, four are even and 13 have outscored their opponents.

*The starters are a team-best plus-24, having scored 54 points and allowing 30, in 23:06.

*Of the 26 lineups used, 13 have seen two minutes of playing time or less, making drawing major conclusions a dicey proposition.